Qantas plummets on ranking of world’s best airlines

Qantas was considered the fifth-best airline in the world last year but it has since fallen a staggering amount of places.

The world’s best airlines have been named – and Qantas has been knocked out of the top 10.

Australia’s largest carrier was considered the fifth-best airline in the world last year but has plummeted 12 spots to be ranked 17 this year.

Qantas has also lost the title of ‘Best Airline in Australia / Pacific’ to Fiji Airways.

Skytrax’s 2023 World Airline Awards dubbed “the Oscars of the aviation industry” were announced in Paris overnight and dished up a sad result for Australia.

Jetstar fell from spot 57 to 69 and Virgin Australia fell from 43 to 46.

However, Australian regional airline REX climbed from spot 72 on the rankings to 56, and took out the title of ‘Best Regional Airline in Australia / Pacific’.

Qantas fell 12 places on a ranking of the world’s best airlines and lost its title as best in the region. Picture: NewsWire / Sarah Marshall

The awards are based on surveys of more than 20 million travellers across over 100 nationalities.

The surveys were done between September 2022 to May 2023, and any airline in the world can be nominated.

It was Singapore Airlines that was named the world’s best for the fifth time in the 23-year history of the awards.

“This award is a testament to the indomitable spirit of our people, who worked tirelessly and made many sacrifices to ensure that SIA was ready for the recovery in air travel,” Singapore Airlines chief executive Goh Choon Phong said.

Singapore Airlines was named the world’s best airline. Picture: iStock

“That has allowed us to emerge stronger and fitter from the pandemic as a leading international airline,” Mr Goh continued.

“We are very grateful to our customers for their enduring loyalty to and affection for Singapore Airlines. During the pandemic, their support and encouragement gave us the strength and determination to overcome the unprecedented challenges.”

Speaking of Fiji Airways’ win in the ‘Australia/Pacific’ category, the airline’s chief executive André Viljoen said: “We may not have as much resources as larger airlines, but we have the Fijian spirit of hospitality and care.”

Qantas believes the survey – that ran from September to May – would not have the same results today.

“This survey started nine months ago when it was clear our service wasn’t back to our best,” a Qantas spokesman told news.com.au.

“A lot has changed since and if you ran this survey today, the results would be very different.

“We’ve worked hard to improve and the feedback from customers shows we are.”